As tourists watched in disbelief as a helicopter plunged into the water at Pearl Harbor Thursday, a Rancho Cordova couple sprang into action with their special set of skills.

Juan Valerio is a Navy Veteran and scuba diver; his wife, Alicia, is a critical care nurse.

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He swam without hesitation to the bobbing bodies emerging from the aircraft and managed to pull a woman to shore. Alicia gave CPR to the woman’s 15-year-old son, once other good Samaritans dove underwater to free the unconscious boy from the helicopter.

"There was nothing more terrifying than hearing her scream at the top of her lungs that her son, she said, ‘he has so much to live for, please help him,’" Juan said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and it’s not yet clear what caused the helicopter to drop into the water. It is now apparent that the pilot radioed air traffic controllers for help.

A Honolulu TV station obtained a recording of the pilot saying, “I am going down.”

The five people aboard survived. The teenage boy is listed in critical condition at a local hospital.

The Valerios, who arrived home Saturday, are quick to say that they don’t consider what they did heroic.

"If that was me and my family, I hope somebody would come out and help us," Juan said.

Alicia said when she began to give the boy CPR, others helped her.

“Everybody was helping and everybody didn't care about their safety they just helped these people out," she said.

They had been hoping Thursday to let their sons see the USS Arizona Memorial, but instead, wound up making memories they never could have planned.

“It made me really proud,” said their 12-year-old son, Benjamin. “My parents, I'm going to look up more to them now because of what just happened."